I just paid a guy $15 for typing 44 words

It all began when Jen's battery on the van went dead. I jumped it and the van was running. I grabbed the kids and got ready to head out and Jen's driver-side door wouldn't close.

the door was locked. but the door was open. I tried EVERYTHING I could think of to open up the latch. Nothing worked.

I poured over the internet for answers. Nothing.

I found what might have been an answer on a website called http://www.justanswer.com/. But I didn't want to pay the $3 to read the answer to a question that wasn't exactly the right question.

So I went outside and fiddled some more. still nothing.

I broke down. they give you three options to pay: $9 for the tight budget, $15 for the regular, and some other option I wasn't going to pay. I was thinking that each question would cost me $3 and I was hoping to get a refund if the question got answered quicker.

Yeah, that's not how it works. But I don't care.

I posted my question:


My driver-side car door is locked. the only problem is that the door is open. i have a 2003 Honda Odyssey. the power door locks work, up and down. However, the white latch will not release. I used wd-40...I tried gently pressing in with a screw driver...I tried the key in the door lock. help! thanks.

Optional Information: 2003 Honda Odyssey v6 Already Tried: I tried locking and unlocking manually. I tried using the switch on the door. I tried turing the key. I tried spraying wd 40 and doing the aforementioned items. I tried prying it gently with a screw driver. I unscrewed the three phillps screws that hold the white latch mechanism in place, but I was a afraid it would fall down in the door.


In two minutes and 23 seconds later I get this:

Hello I think you are saying the latch is closed and the door is open if so try pushing it open with something while holding the door handle in the opening position let me know if you need more help or have any questions


I go outside....BOOM. First try.

I'm not too pumped about it costing me $15, but I'm pretty excited to not have to devote 30 minutes driving to the dealership, 90 minutes to wait till they come out and charge me $100 for doing what I just did. and that's if they didn't find 10 other things wrong with the vehicle.

pretty slick. Here's our exchange: http://honda.justanswer.com/questions/1e55j-driver-side-car-door-locked

99 Thoughts about Guys

My friend Kurt has a GREAT post about a book idea he has for girls about guys. It's a book written for girls about guys. He gives an example:

When a guy says he loves you, he really doesn't understand what he's saying!He may really, really like you, but he probably doesn't really, truly love you. Mainly because he's still trying to figure out what real love is all about. Plus, sometimes guys say things they think they are supposed to say.

A number of people have already left comments and some of them are pretty good. Check it out and leave a comment! Click here.

Whirlwind Weekend

Wow! am I sick of driving!

On Friday I had a full day of work including having middle schoolers over our house till 11 pm. Then on Saturday (yesterday) we left our house at 8 am and drove our kids up to Waverly, IA for "Camp Cuz" a camp that Jen's parent's put on for all the grand kids. It's a ton of fun.

We got there at 5 pm yesterday, only to leave this morning at 8:15 am. And of course, Charis barely slept last night, so the fact that we made it all home safely is a grace of God.

We did get home in time to catch Hellboy 2.

Such a fun movie. There is a HILARIOUS scene where Hellboy and the fish guy end up singing a love song...I was laughing so loud. I really liked the first Hellboy and this one didn't disappoint.

We went to dinner at Cheddar's and headed home and now I'm packing for a week of Middle School Camp at YouthFront in KC! We leave at 9 am and we're taking a couple van loads of students. It's gonna be a GREAT week!